Call Me by My Name
by LiquidFlame
Summary: The witch turns Rukawa into a cat after he accidentally blocks the entrance to the witch's house, only Haruko can break the spell. Will poor Rukawa stay a cat forever? Or will he get rescued? (one-shot) RuHaru


**Disclaimer: **Ok, I don't own Slam Dunk. I'm just writing for fun and I don't make any money off this.

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……

"Out of the way, stupid cat!"

Rukawa meowed as someone kicked him to the side, hard. Slowly getting back on his paws, he recognized the three girls from his fan club, poking their heads into the gym to watch the practice. _Annoying_

"Where is he?" One of the girls asked.

"I don't know, don't see him anywhere."

"Ohh…nooooo…Maybe Rukawa-kun is sick. He wasn't in class either."

"Ohhhhhhh…poor Rukawa-kun…"

"I hope he'll be alright! Oh Rukawa-kun…"

"He is just so handsome! Ohhhhhhhh..."

_Da'ahos, _Rukawa thought to himself. Looking for a way to enter the gym, he crawled back and forth at the entrance, which was completely blocked by the three girls.

Rukawa sighed, exasperated, couldn't those Da'ahos move away if they were done! They were not the ones he was looking for.

"Man, Rukawa-kun is not here."

Rukawa jumped to the side as one of the girls turned, he didn't want to get kicked again.

"Oh well, let's go."

"Man, it's so boring."

Rukawa breathed a sigh of relief seeing the three walk away. He tentatively took a step into the gym, extending his head to locate his target. He was relieved to see the assistant manager sitting quietly at the side.

Rukawa sighed again; this all started with his sports shoes.

While unpacking after practice yesterday, the Shohoku ace noticed a worn out heel on one of his shoes. Naturally, he took the pair and threw them into the nearby garbage dump as he made his way out. Unfortunately, the shoes happened to block the entrance of the CatWitch family house.

To punish the ace for his indiscretion, the CatWitch family decided on a spell to turn him into one of their kind. The spell could only be broken if he can get the assistant manager, a person who truly loves him, to call the cat Rukawa by his human name.

Or he'll have to stay a cat for the rest of his life…

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Rukawa made his way toward the manager, i.e., before another figure blocked his way.

"Nyahahahaha…Haruko-san! Did you see the Tensai Dunk! Tensai Sakuragi Hanamichi! Will certainly lead Shohoku to national championship! Nyahahahaha…"

_Da'aho, get out of the way!_

"Back to practice! Sakuragi!" Ayako's paper fan did its purpose.

"Did you have to hit me that hard!" Turning, Sakuragi's eyes fell on a small heap of black fur. For a moment the two stood, staring/glaring at each other.

"No cats in here! That fox/cat Rukawa is already enough! He is too lazy to even show up for practice!" Sakuragi grabbed Rukawa by the tail, aiming to throw him out of the gym.

_Da'aho_

Rukawa thrashed his nails, embroidering three red lines onto each side of Sakuragi's face. The latter yelped as he released his hold on the cat.

The Shohoku ace shot to his feet. Not wasting a second, he ran towards a stunned Haruko, meowing.

"Aww…how cute!" Haruko scooped the ace into her arms, cooing.

"You'll get your germs on Haruko-san! Come here!"

_Whack_

"Sakuragi!" Ayako desperately wished that the old captain was still here.

The red-haired tensai grumbled before turning back to practice, but not forgetting to send one last glare to the cat, the latter glared back.

"I wonder where he comes from." Haruko commented, cuddling Rukawa to her chest.

"It's a cute cat. Wonder if someone lost it." Ayako walked back to her seat.

"It doesn't look like he has a collar."

"Is it a he or she?"

"I don't know. Uhm…let's take a look."

Rukawa's fur stood on its end as Haruko made the move to flip him onto his back.

_Don't think about it woman! There is no way you're going to invade my privacy!_

"Meow, MeowMeowMeowMeowMeowMeow!" Rukawa struggled about desperately, digging his nails into Haruko's shirt to prevent the exposure.

"Ok, ok, I won't." Haruko compromised, stroking his fur.

"Haruko, what do you plan to do with it?" Ayako asked.

"Huh…"

"Don't tell me you're going to take it home because I know your brother hate cats."

"I don't think it'd be nice to throw him out again, poor thing, I'll just keep him in my room."

Ayako sighed.

**After practice, Akagi residence…**

"Ok little kitty, stay here and I'll bring you dinner, ok?" Haruko sat Rukawa on the carpet.

_Ok, ok, just bring it already, I'm hungry._

Rukawa sighed as the girl left, his inability to talk is getting seriously annoying. He wondered how cats lived with that.

Looking around the room, Rukawa's eyes fell on an open notebook on the small desk beside the girl's bed. Out of curiosity, he took a leap and landed himself onto the desk to take a peek, at least he could still read.

_2-18-98_

_For some reason, Rukawa-kun is practicing harder than usual. It almost felt as if a shell has descended onto his world; all that's left in him is the desire to win. It hit me with mixed emotions. On one hand, I'm happy that his skills are growing to be competitive with the professional, on the other, I feel somewhat sad for…something I cannot explain…_

"Ok, dinner is here!" Haruko closed the door behind her.

Rukawa jumped at her voice; he didn't want to be caught reading her diary. It took a moment though, for him to recall his present form.

"Aww, did I scare you? Sorry little thing."

_Of course you did. Now where is my food?_

"I brought you some fried chicken and a little bit of noodles, sorry I've yet to get cat food."

Rukawa ignored her, digging into his dinner. He hadn't eaten since the previous night and he was starving since he declined on the garbage dish this morning.

"Poor little thing, you must be really hungry." Haruko patted him on the head.

_Can't you tell? Stupid woman_

"Ok, enjoy your food, I'm going to change real fast."

Rukawa was concentrating too hard on the dinner to hear her.

He had to admit, the girl did have a talent at cooking. He had never eaten anything so tasty before. The chickens had that refreshing taste of a mix of tomato and orange and the noodles were made with an assortment of vegetables.

It didn't take very long for him to wolf down the whole plate of provisions. Rukawa meowed, satisfied as he licked his plate one last time. Yummy!

Stuffed, the ace lazily stretched out a yawn. He slowly crawled his way into the bed. A nice sleep would do some miracles for the day.

"Oh not yet little thing." Haruko scooped Rukawa to her bosom before he could jump onto her bed.

"You need to bath first or you'll get your fur over the bed."

_Can't you tell I'm sleepy!_

It took a second though, for Rukawa to realize Haruko's state of dress. She was in nothing more than her very inner-wear. He could feel his cheek swell and burn as it brushed against the upper part of her breasts.

"Oh no! Your nose is bleeding!" Haruko panicked, "Is it too hot in here? I'll turn up the conditioner."

_Whatever_

"I guess I'll clean up too, you got it all over me."

Rukawa could feel his nose swell for another round of bleeding as her words made a twist in his mind.

"Ok cutie pie, let's get started." Haruko walked into her personal restroom, settling the ace into the bathtub while applying a scoop of shampoo onto his back.

_I have a name you know!_

"You don't look like a wild cat, you're so clean." she commented, rubbing the shampoo onto Rukawa's bottom.

_No! Not there woman! _

"Ok, stop thrashing about so I can continue my work ok?"

Poor Rukawa was pressed down onto his stomach.

"Alright, now let's get the foam off."

_Ok then, hurry!_

Rukawa's thoughts were interrupted by a huge stream of cold water.

_Freezing! Woman! It's freezing!_

"I know it might be a little bit cold for you, but it helps to stop the bleeding."

The ace was too immersed in his icy world to hear the girl.

"Ok, let's get you dry." Haruko grabbed a nearby towel as she turned off the bath.

_Finally…_

"Alright, there you go. Now it's my turn." Haruko reached to unclasp her bra.

_Wait! _

"…"

_Ok, I already warned her; come to think of it…she does have a nice pair of breasts…_

Rukawa had to turn away to prevent his nose from bleeding again. He crawled out of the restroom and onto the bed to sleep, meowing at the sweet smell of the sheets…

10 minutes later, Haruko walked out of the restroom to see a fast asleep Rukawa in the middle of her bed.

"Move over, little thing"

"…"

Haruko sighed. Scooping the small cat into her arms, she gently set it onto the side before climbing in herself.

**IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII**

Haruko woke up to see sunlight peeking through the blinds. Yawning, she sat up. It was time for jogging. Her vision fell onto the small form beside her as she made a move to get out of her bed.

"Wake up cutie; we are going for a walk."

Rukawa yawned, sparing a lazy glance at his host.

_Can't I sleep some more? It's Saturday today._

"Wake up!"

_Ok, ok._

Rukawa slowly got on his paws.

"Good kitty. Wait here, I'm just going to take a quick shower."

The Shohoku ace sprang wide awake at her words, but was relieved/disappointed as the girl closed the restroom door behind her.

Rukawa sighed, he was not himself. The real Rukawa would never think about peeking while a girl showered. It was all her fault; she had corrupted him yesterday.

He had made contacts with her in the past, regarding practice mostly. For a few times, he even played just to impress her. But…it was different from what he was feeling at the moment…Ok, he admit that he didn't hate the girl…

"Ok, I'm ready!"

_For what?_

Haruko's words took another turn in Rukawa's head.

"Let's go!"

Again, Rukawa was swept off his feet.

**Local Park**

_Put me down woman, I want some exercise too! _

Rukawa pushed against Haruko

"Aww…you want to walk on your own? Ok, I'm going to set you down here, but don't run around too much ok?"

Rukawa nodded.

"You understand my words! Cute kitty!" Haruko planted a kiss on his cheek before setting him down.

_She just kissed me…_

Once free, Rukawa began making rounds in the basketball court. He needs to stay in shape for the upcoming game.

"Morning, Haruko!"

Haruko looked up to see her best friend, Fujii, running towards her. "Hey, morning Fujii!"

Fujii looked towards the running Rukawa. "Cute little thing, I didn't know you kept a cat."

"Actually, I just kind of took it home last night. It was kind of lost I guess."

"Cool, what's its name?"

"Name?"

"Doesn't it have one?"

"Now that you remind me, I have yet to choose a name for him."

"Well anyway, I got to get going because I need to deliver the student ID to my sister, I'll see you later!"

"Bye Fujii." Haruko smiled, turning to see her cat 'chatting' with two other cats, how cute.

Rukawa was trapped, what do they want from him? For some reason the two big female cats wouldn't let him through.

"_What's your name?"_

"…" Rukawa remained silent.

"_Awwwwwww…aren't you handsome!"_

"_He is! What a cutie!"_

The two cats chattered happily. One reached out her front paws in an attempt to hug him.

**Spin. Speed. Action.**

Utilizing his basketball training, Rukawa sprang to the side, narrowly avoiding the predatory paw.

Not wasting a second, he shot towards his host at the speed of light. All Haruko could see was a black arrow flying at her. She reached her hands out to it out of instinct.

Rukawa breathed a sigh of relief once he returned to the safety of Haruko's arms. For the first time he realized that the park was in fact full of danger.

"You want to play with my cat?"

_Wait, what?_

Rukawa looked down to see the two female cats lurking by Haruko's feet.

"Cutie pie, I think your friends want to play with you." Haruko made the move to set him onto the ground.

_They're not my friends! And there is no way I'm getting off!_

"MeowMeowMeowMeowMeowMeow!" Rukawa re-utilized his digging-nail technique.

"Ok, ok, but this is not very nice of you."

_Whatever!_

"Ok, fine, let's go home."

"Meow!" _Yes!_

To Rukawa's dismay, the two female cats followed them on the heel. Rukawa peered over Haruko's shoulder.

_Stay away will you? _

Rukawa glared.

But it was another ten minutes before the two finally gave up, tired of the long journey.

"Come to think of it," Haruko spoke, "I think I should get you a name."

"Meow!" _Finally!_

"Let's see," Haruko stopped on the sidewalk. She peeled Rukawa off her shoulder and took him into her hands to take a closer look.

Those eyes…for a moment they mingled with Haruko's memory of a certain boy… what was she thinking…

"Ok, what about…"

Rukawa's heart caught in his throat.

"What about…Ru…"

_Rukawa woman! Rukawa!_

"What about Ruko! You must be a girl since you're so shy."

Rukawa could feel pain in his head as he hit the ground; the ace fainted.

……

_Bip…bip…bip…bip_

Rukawa groaned as he hit the floor, head first.

His hazy mind sprang to attention as he recalled the episode from the previous day. Examining himself from head to toe, Rukawa breathed a huge sigh of relief. It was just a dream.

But really, Ruko? How did she come up with that name? Rukawa smiled a rare smile as he jogged his way to school.

**After practice: Shohoku**

Haruko was cleaning up after the group left. Hearing footsteps, she looked up to spot the Shohoku ace walking towards her.

"Yes? Rukawa-kun?"

"Rukawa-kun?" Rukawa parroted, yes, his name was Rukawa, not Ruko.

"…?" Haruko was puzzled, "is there something of matter?"

"Uh…I'm just wondering…would you like to have some fried chicken and noodles with me after this?"

"Huh?" Haruko couldn't believe her ears.

"…Uhm…" Rukawa scratched his head, growing more nervous by the minute.

"Sure! In a minute!" Haruko smiled after she came to. She made a quick run to put everything in order. "Let's go!"

Rukawa smiled, the girl sent a warm feeling into his heart.

"Rukawa-kun?"

"Hn?"

"I was just wondering, why did you ask me to have dinner together all of the sudden?"

The latter reached to hold her hand.

"Nothing, just really glad that you called me by my name."

**_Finis…_**


End file.
